Pirates
by WishfulKittyKat1
Summary: Jameson Conte, second child of King Roald VI, isn't sure what he wants to do with his life. When his father forces him to go to Carthak to learn to enhance his Sight, he's furious. However, life takes an unexpected turn when he and his ship are captured by Anastasia Ramone Dominica, feared pirate and captain of the White Death. Will he manage to escape her and get back home?
1. Chapter 1

His Highness, Prince Jameson of Conte, second-in-line to the Tortallan throne, stood on the bow of Queen Thyet. He squinted through the thick fog, trying to make out the shape of a dark spot far away.

"Your Highness." The captain bowed to him.

Jay sighed. "I asked you to call me Jay, Arrald."

"I respectfully refuse, Highness."

Carthakis. So formal. "I figured. It was worth a shot." Jay returned his attention to the spot on the horizon. It looked bigger. Was it? Surely not. They weren't moving that fast, were they? Maybe he was misjudging their speed. The blot was probably just a hallucination. But no, it was definitely there. Had it been that big a minute ago?

The captain cleared his throat and Jay jumped. "Highness, I have information for you."

Jay shook his head to clear the fogginess in his mind. The mist that had surrounded the ship for days now must be affecting him. "Sorry, Arrald." Jay said. "Report."

"King Roald wishes to speak with you next time you have access to a fire."

"I will." He promised. Arrald cocked an eyebrow, well aware of the circumstances surrounding Jay's trip to Carthak.

"You will?"

Jay had no intention of contacting his father until _he_ was ready. His father had tricked him into getting on this boat and now was forcing him to study in Carthak. Jay didn't want to study magic, no matter how powerful he was. He didn't want to be a knight, either. Truthfully, he wasn't sure what he wanted to do, but he didn't want to be told.

"I really will this time." The captain didn't look convinced. "Really!"

Arrald sighed. "He did it for your own good, you know."

Jay didn't say anything. He liked the captain and didn't want to lie to him. Instead he pointed into the fog, where to dark spot was definitely getting closer. "What's that out there?"

The captain glanced where he was pointing, and suddenly swore.

Startled by the vicious language by the usually mild-mannered man, the prince's eyes widened. "What is it?"

Arrald spat. "Pirates."

 **A/N:**

 **Hi! I know this is really short, and future chapters will be longer, I promise! I plan to update whenever I can, really, so I may do two or three chapters one week and then not post for a month, but I definitely won't abandon this fic. Please review! I love learning how I can make my writing better!**


	2. Chapter 2

Captain Anastasia Ramone Dominica, Captain of the White Death, growled in frustration at the map that lay before her. "I don't get it!" She snapped. "It makes no sense." She slammed a fist down on the solid wooden table and lightning cracked outside, even though it had been clear seconds ago. Beside her, her first mate jumped.

"Please, Cap'n, our ship can't take the beatn' that you gettn' angry would give us." He stammered.

Ana swallowed the wave of irritation that swept over her at the reminder of her weakness. She didn't have a strong handle on the magic she possessed. She knew. She didn't need to be told daily.

But the old man had a fair point. The last storm her powers had caused had sunk three ships and nearly sunk her own. Maybe she should try to keep a hold on her temper.

"Of course. I apologize, Tolan." She said, forcing calm into her voice. Outside, rain still pounded, but it was nothing the ship couldn't take.

Tolan nodded, reassured, and began explaining to Ana why the foreign kings were placing their fleets in positions that made no particular sense on the map, but she'd gotten distracted already. The fog nearby was moving in a strange pattern… Casting her senses out, she found a blank spot not too far from them. Instantly she slammed down a thicker screen of fog and pulled the rain back to herself. Rain wouldn't help her crew fight.

"Tolan, this can wait."

"Cap'n, I know you's not likin' this part o' the battle, but-"

Impatience at the man's single focus flickered across her face. Ana held up a hand, stopping all further protests from her first mate. "That's not what I mean, Tolan. I'm no quitter." She glared at him, daring him to argue. He didn't take the dare. "The lesson can wait, but the ship that's coming up on us can't."

The man snapped to attention. "How big's the ship, sir?"

She threw her senses out again, quickly finding the blank spot in her usually clear sense of the ocean. "About the same size as us."

"Is they armed?"

She shot her first mate a glare. "I'm no Carthak trained mage. Why don't you go check? Raid them if you like."

Permission from the captain was the same thing as an order. "Yes, sir!" He turned on his heel and exited her quarters. Suddenly she remembered something.

"Tolan?"

"Yes, sir?"

"Don't kill anyone you don't have to."

Tolan slid out of his stiff facade and into the friend who'd protected her when she'd first joined the crew. "You's one strange pirate, Ana."

She held back a grin. "I was a girl before I was a pirate, Tolan, and a pirate longer than a girl. I'm bound to make a strange one of either."

"Hmph." Tolan didn't sound convinced, but he left, yelling orders for thirty men to arm up.

Ana stifled a sigh, and faced the map. While the battle was going on, at least she could study. She stared at the Tortallan king's ships.

"He's got it all wrong." She muttered. She started moving the ships around, placing them in a pattern that would assist with victory. Slowly she became aware of someone standing behind her.

"What is it?" Ana snapped.

"Trying to beam your ideas to the Tortallan royal family again?" A familiar voice asked.

She sighed. "Calix."

The boy grinned. "Captain."

She whirled, blocking the table with her body. "Shouldn't you be with Tolan?"

"I got a day off. Shouldn't you be leading that charge?"

"I have to concentrate."

"On what?"

Ana gestured in the air. "The weather. I've been keeping that fog off us for a week. And I've been trying to not make a typhoon every time someone irritates me."

"You've fought while keeping off a full-fledged gale." Calix pointed out. "And won."

"It wasn't an experience I'd like to repeat." Her voice was low, dangerous, even. That wasn't right. Calix was her friend, not her enemy. It wasn't his fault she'd been forced to challenge the old captain.

Calix flinched. "Sorry."

She shook off the weird feeling scaring someone gave her. She wasn't supposed to like it. It wasn't supposed to be fun. "I'm going to have to get used to fighting again soon." Ana reminded him. "Or they'll think I'm soft, or spoiled."

"You're not spoiled." He said. "You still eat with your crew, and you never shirk your work."

There was a loud boom from above, and a crash. "Mithros!" Ana swore viciously in Tyran, using all the worst curses she'd heard on the many ships she'd been on.

"And somehow, I can't picture them thinking you're soft." Calix said, a glimmer of amusement in his green-brown eyes.

Ana ignored him and strapped her knife to her leg, over her pants. She tugged off the red handkerchief tied around her neck and went to braid her hair, sticking a strap pierced with nails in it. Men never fought fair. Why should she? Calix stopped her, grabbing her hands.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Getting ready to fight." She yanked her hands away and went back to braiding her hair.

"You're not fighting."

"Yes, I am."

"No, you aren't. I forbid it."

She glared at him. "It is not your place to tell me what to do, Striker."

His mouth fell open. "You're pulling rank on me?"

She shoved down the guilt that rose at this. He had no right to boss her around! He wasn't her commanding officer or her father! "Yes, I am." His shock turned to anger as she continued. "Your job is to fish, not keep the captain from her job!"

Suddenly he shoved her sword at her. "I'm coming too."

"What?" It was his day off! He didn't have to fight every time they found another ship.

"If you insist on trying to get yourself killed, then the least I can do is watch your back."

She stared at him. She'd just been horrible to him! Why would he care if she died?

"Close your mouth, Ana. I'm your friend, and it's clear you want to do this. And you were right. It's not my place to tell you you can't fight."

She took the sword, strapping it to her side. "I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything. Just fight!" Calix threw the door open and they plunged into the fight that was being held on both ships.


	3. Chapter 3

Jay sliced blindly with his sword, unable to tell the pirates from his own shipmates. The heavy fog that had settled heavily on them wasn't helping.

Arrald shouted something about the weather to him across the boat.

The boy inched his way closer until he could put his back to Arrald's. "What did you say?"

"They've got a powerful mage onboard!" Arrald yelled. "He's playing with the weather! We need to find out who it is!"

Jay glanced around, trying to use his Sight to track the source of the strangely golden magic, but it appeared to be going into several of the pirates.

"It seems like it's most of them!" He yelled back. Arrald cursed before stabbing at a smaller pirate. The pirate jumped backwards, narrowly avoiding his friend's sword. Jumping up, the little pirate swung himself above their heads. Enhancing his Sight, Jay saw that the pirate had his feet shoved into a crack in the topmast. The fog and recent rain had made the wood slippery, and the pirate clung to the mast like a desperate sailor, which, in a way, he was. Rain began pouring down, stinging Jay's face and making the pirate look like a drowned rat. Jay glanced around. Everyone else seemed to have the fight well in hand. The pirate on the topmast was the only one who wasn't being challenged. Before he could think twice, he sheathed his sword and started scaling the topmast.

It was harder than he'd thought, with the wood fully saturated and himself out of shape. He focused on the rope in his hands, refusing to let himself look down. Jay braced his feet against the wood and lunged up with his hands. He repeated the process.

Jay was almost to where the pirate hung when his foot slipped and his too-loose shoe flew off. For a few petrifying seconds, he was dangling in the air with nothing under his feet. He swung away from the mast, and was just realizing this meant he would swing back and hit it when a rough hand gripped his wrist, halting his progress.

"Brace yourself, boy." The owner of the hand ordered, then Jay was yanked up by the pirate on the mast as lightning cracked nearby.

The pirate deposited him beside the mast, on the pole the sails hung from, and took a step back. Jay knelt and recovered from his fright, not bothering to defend himself from the pirate who stood beside him. If this pirate had wanted him dead, he wouldn't have rescued him.

The rain lessened, until it was just a gentle patter on his back. Shouts of fighting still came from below, but they were quieter, somehow. Everything was subdued, like it was coming from underwater.

The pirate stepped forward, and then stopped. He reached out a hand, and then pulled it tightly against himself. Finally, the pirate knelt beside him and put a cautious hand on Jay's shoulder.

"I guess you haven't climbed in the rain before, huh, boy?"

The gentle words pulled the prince back to himself, to where he was, to the story they would say if pirates attacked. Fear wasn't hard to fake as he stammered, "Please don't hurt me, sir."

The pirate sighed and stood, leaving Jay on his knees. "What's your name, boy?"

Justin. From the Copper Isles. Captured by the others, who would claim they were slave traders. "Justin, Master-" He let his voice trail off into a silent request for the other boy's name.

The pirate let the question slide, instead asking, "Master Justin, where are you from?"

"The Copper Isles, Master…"

Again he ignored Jay's question and asked, "Why are you on a Tortallan ship, Master Justin?"

Jay gave up on finding out the pirate's name. He forced himself to turn red and look down. "They caught me, sir." He mumbled, too low for the pirate to hear.

"Speak up, Master Justin." The pirate had a sarcastic tone to the "Master Justin", but Jay ignored it.

"I'm their slave, sir." He said, louder. "They caught me. Sir."

The pirate studied him for a moment before softening considerably. Was it really that easy to lie to the unSighted? "We won't hurt you, Justin. If I may call you that."

"Of course, sir." Jay said, bowing his head. He would play the part of the grateful slave to save his life, but he hated to be on his knees before this pirate who should be hanging from a rope.

A hand was offered to him, the clear sign of a captor sparing their captive. "I'm Anastasia." He looked up, unable to contain his surprise. This pirate was a girl? But before he could get used to that idea, she added, "Ramone Dominica." Anastasia Ramone Dominica? She was one of the most ruthless pirates around, and the best who'd ever tormented Tortall. Now she was offering him his life? Rather hesitantly, she extended her hand further. "Welcome to the White Death." But she didn't seem so sure of herself.


	4. Chapter 4

The boy was no Copper Isles slave, Ana knew that. If he was a fresh-caught slave, she was the Lioness of Tortall. Slaves didn't carry swords, like the one that rested at his waist. Fresh-caught slaves had not yet figured out that obedience earned them less bruises than defiance, but his face had no bruises or scars. He might be from the Copper Isles, but she wouldn't bet on it. Even so, there was something she liked about him, something that made her extend her hand to him in mercy, a motion she rarely used.

""I'm Anastasia." She said. He looked up, surprise on his face. Was he surprised because she'd spared his life, or because she was a girl? He was impossible to read. She really wanted to leave off the last part, to just be a normal person for a while longer, but it wouldn't be fair for Justin to hear it from someone else. "Ramone Dominica." Fear and confusion overtook the surprise. She wasn't sure if she could take the emotion she knew came next: Anger. Shoving her hand further toward him, refusing to change her mind, she added, "Welcome to the White Death."

She halfway expected him to grab his sword and be done with it, but instead his hand moved toward hers. He hesitated, a hair's width away from contact, before clasping her hand with his own.

"It's nice to meet you, Captain Anastasia." He said.

"You won't be so pleased soon enough." She warned him. "My crew doesn't sit around doing nothing. We work, and we fight."

"I can work." He promised as he stood. She glanced at his soft hands, and carefully schooled her face to keep incredulity from showing. Work? She'd pay good money if he knew how to work hard.

Ana looked down, and grinned. "Great job, men!" She called.

Justin followed her gaze and stared. Not one of her crew was seriously injured, and all of his crew was tied up. No one was bleeding too badly, and no one was dead. Tolan and the others had followed orders well.

Ana climbed down the rope, and Justin followed. She walked over to the captives.

"Who's your captain?" She asked, her voice ice cold.

No one spoke. A closer examination revealed they were all gagged.

"Shake your head if you are the captain of the-" She looked at the ship that was swarming with her men. "Queen Thyet."

"Arrald gave a hearty shake of his head. She drew the knife that was in her boot, and beside her Justin looked away. She hesitated, then handed the knife to Justin, hilt-first.

"Do whatever you think best with him." She ordered.

Justin turned white, but it was clearly a test. The other pirates leaned in, to see what the boy would do.

He took the knife. He had a good grip, one that you either learned through hours of practice, or hard experience. Given the shade of white he was turning, she would guess the former.

Justin braced himself, then put the knife to the captain's neck. He pressed it in, not even enough to draw blood. He gritted his teeth, and started to drag the knife across the poor man's throat. Then he shook his head. He turned toward Ana. "I'm sorry, Captain. I can't do it."

She didn't say a word, but she raised an eyebrow. A slave who refused to get revenge on the ones who kidnapped him? More proof he was no slave. Justin returned his attention to the captain of the other ship.

"You never beat me, and stopped your men from beating me." Justin said. He pulled the knife through the strip of fabric that gagged the man. "Tell me why."

The man whispered, "You look like my son."

Ana was thinking, two fingers dancing on her chin. "Where are you from, Captain?" She asked.

He answered her warily. "A little bit of everywhere."

She smiled, but there was no warmth behind the smile. "But everyone has somewhere they call home. Where is your home, Captain?"

"I'm Carthak born, Captain." He responded.

She waved that away. "I can see that! I want to know where you'd go if you stopped… trading." The man looked at Justin, and Ana wanted to hit him. Can't anyone just answer a question? "You mentioned a son. Where does your son live?" She said, with exaggerated patience.

"Tortall, Captain."

"Switch the flags." She ordered Calix, who'd come up behind her. He gave her a slight grin.

"Yes, Captain." He turned to obey, but she stopped him.

"Wait."

"Something else you wanted, Captain?"

""Yes. Take Justin with you. He made the right choice." She said, glancing at the boy.

Justin visibly relaxed and followed Calix.

"Andersons?" She glanced around, then cursed in Tyran. Barely remembering to switch back to Common Easter, she said, "Mithros bless it! Did that stupid mage sleep through the whole thing?"

"I didn't see him, Captain." Tolan offered.

Going back to Tyran, she cursed again. "Someone go get him."

Three men scampered off. Behind her, she heard a sniff. She whirled around, but no one was there. The air began to speak.

"I am not a 'stupid mage', thank you very much. Of course you didn't see me, Tolan. I don't like being seen. Captain, may I talk to you in private?"

Ana sighed. "Will I be able to see you?"

"Once we're safely inside your cabin, and I've sealed it from eavesdroppers, or unexpected guests, yes."

"Very well." She started the trek to her cabin, grateful for the standing water that made Andersons' footsteps very clear. The mage got offended when she stepped on him.

She ducked inside and closed the door. "Will you drop the shield now?"

"One moment." His moss-green gift filled the corners of the room. Then he appeared. "Better."

The mage wasn't anything special. He was muscled, as anyone on a pirate ship would be, and his hair hung shoulder length. Day-old stubble brushed his cheeks, and sweat shone on his face under the light.

"What did you want to talk to me about?" Ana asked.

"I wasn't fighting, Captain, because I was scattering your magic. Did you know you brought someone with the Sight aboard? That boy?"

Switching to Tyran, she swore vivdly, describing what she'd do to the trickster god Kyprioth if she got her hands on him. Switching back to Common Eastern, she spoke much calmer, a frightening contrast to the swearing, spitting girl she'd been a moment before.

"Do you know who he is, Andersons?" She asked.

"No, Captian." He said. "What did he claim to be?"

"A slave." If they'd been on the main deck, she would have spat to show her appreciation of that idea.

Andersons frowned. "He's definitely not a slave. But why would the crew risk your wrath to lie for him?"

Ana hesitated. The man was right. Usually, she didn't have any patience for slavers. They'd be thrown overboard tied to a cannonball. "His hands are soft, like he hasn't seen work before." She said slowly, formulating an idea. "He was on a royal ship. He knows how to hold a sword." She looked at the mage. "He couldn't be a noble, could he?"

Andersons shrugged. "You could ask him while I'm using eyebright. But I've never tried it on Sight mages before…"

The girl-captain sighed. "Why can't the nobles stay away? If I don't let him go, his noble father will get righteously angry, and King Johnathan will finally go after me. If I let him go, he'll tell his noble father that I'm dangerous, and King Johnathan will finally go after me. I really have no choice."

"Keep him for a week or so." The mage suggested. "Bring him back to Tortallan port yourself. Earn his trust."

Thinking over it, she slowly nodded. "Thank, Andersons."

Andersons grinned. "Don't thank me. Just put me ashore at the Tortallan port. I need to catch up with my old teacher, Numair Saliman."

"The black robe mage?" She asked, incredulous.

He smiled. "What rank do you think I am, that I can fool someone who's Sighted?"

Ana shook her head ruefully. "Always full of surprises, huh, Andersons?"

"Always, Captain."


End file.
